Wiring Harness/Relay Upgrades for '98 Explorer?

I lost the links I had saved last year to some sites that sold a heavy duty wiring harness and relay for the Ford and 9007 bulbs. Searched Google for over an hour tonight and can't find the product anymore!
What I do find are just cheap wiring kits with sockets.
I'm looking for the kit that has 10 AWG wiring and a high current relay. Does anyone know where to get these? They seem to have disappeared off the market.
Failing that, where can I get high temperature sockets that won't melt with the 130W 9007 hi beam bulbs? (This is if I choose to build my own wiring harness and purchase a separate relay.
The stock sockets and the ones sold in auto parts stores (I've had to replace my stock sockets as they melted) can't take the heat.

So what's the best wiring harness out there and a link to that vendor?

Hoping not to hit any deer this winter, with brighter lights!

Thanks for your help!

 

[DirtyDog]

Ebay has them but I don't know how good they are from there. I think the site you are looking for is www.suvlights.com

 

[mweiss]

Yes, that's the web site I had bookmarked last year but lost the link to.

I see this harness they have is a 14 guage wire.

I was looking at a Summit wiring harness for half the cost that also seems to be only 14 guage. What I really need is 10-12 guage wiring, as the 14 drops some voltage. I'd like to get 14.2 V across the filaments instead of the 10.8 or so I'm getting now. That would make a significant improvement.

The Summit kit I'm looking at is here:
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=partdetail.asp?part=SUM-890031

I think the one at SUVLights may be a better unit, as it has a fusible link included for safety. No mention of this on the Summit part.

Thanks for the lost/missing link!

 

[Bill Kemp]

See: http://www.rallylights.com/other/wiring.htm
I dont think your going to get any voltage drop useing 14 guage.

 

[Cable]

If im not mistaken aldive or someone else has tested the voltage drop with the harness from suvlights.com and it was pretty negligable, a great improvement over stock from all accounts.

 

[jimbo74]

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Headlights.shtml#WiringHarness

 

[aldive]

If im not mistaken aldive or someone else has tested the voltage drop with the harness from suvlights.com and it was pretty negligable, a great improvement over stock from all accounts.

I have had mine for almost three years; one of the best mods I have ever made. Highly recommended.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67524&highlight=wiring+harness

 

[mweiss]

I'm curious to know what the wattage of the lamps were when the voltage drop was tested. I'm considering 100/130W lamps, which is why I'm concerned.

I'm inclined to go with the SUVLights version, but am also checking out other links listed here. Thanks!

Thanks for the other links, everyone!

(Hey, I gotta tell you my mileage story using acetone in my fuel!)

 

[Bill Kemp]

I'm curious to know what the wattage of the lamps were when the voltage drop was tested. I'm considering 100/130W lamps, which is why I'm concerned./QUOTE]

If you read the link I posted you will see that useing #14 wire you would be able to run wire 36' without voltage drop. You can use heavier guage wire but its a waste and harder to use.

 

[mweiss]

All wire has SOME voltage drop--it's a matter of resistance per foot, which is very small for the larger wires. However the goal here is to reduce that drop to negligable values. I would be okay with a drop of 0.2V, but not 0.5V which makes an appreciable difference in lumen output. Right now, I get 10.8V at the terminals of the light socket. I have 14.2 at the battery. If I can get 14.0 at lamp, that would be acceptable, since most bulbs seem to be rated for their lumen output @ 13.8V.

What IS the wire guage of the OEM wiring that is installed by the Ford factory? That must be 22 AWG or something in that range.

 

[Bill Kemp]

What IS the wire guage of the OEM wiring that is installed by the Ford factory? That must be 22 AWG or something in that range.

Never measured it. Just assumed that it was marginal as suppliers are choked to keep the prices low.
You can split hairs on voltage drop all you want and will probably be right. However I dont think you will notice a difference between a "store bought" 14 guage harness and a 10 guage home made one.
As I mentioned before it sounds like you could use some good aux. lights for the additional lighting. A good set of fogs will light up more than any 100 watt headlight bulbs. Same can be said for driving lights compared to 130 watt high beams. You might as well put your time & money to the best use.

 

[mweiss]

Auxiliary lights might be the way to go, but I see the road full of Explorers with aux lamps blinding the crap out of me from the opposing traffic lane. Also, they are hard to protect (if the wife parks and bumps the curb, or the stickshift driver on the hill ahead of me rolls backwards into my front bumper) and the don't survive long. Not to mention they look like a lot of extra crap hanging off the bumper.
I feel that if the built in lights are done right, they should be adequate. Like my wife's Mitsubishi (although it is a quad headlight system) which has plenty of light without adding aux lights.

I've just ordered the diamond cut kit mentioned here and will order the SUVLights Heavy Duty harness as soon as I finish this reply.

Will report my results later on.